Napping machine



April 23, 1929. F, FLYNN v 1,709,974

NAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 10, 1925 5O .7 in,

l5 a V 1+ 2? JIHII I Illlllllllll Ill mllllll 5s A s i 4 g u 5| I 45 v I ,4QH.L46. 47

. Patented A r. 23, 1929.

warren stares rerenrorrics MORTIMER r. FLYNN, or when new BRIGHTON, new YORK, ASSIGNO-B, To new are 1 SYSTEM, INC, 03? NEW YOBK,.I\T, Y A CORPORATION OF NEW-YORK.

NAIEPING Application filed December This invention relates to napping niachines. 7

An object of the invention is to provine an improved'form of napping element of a rena-pping machine of the hand propelled typeand an improved form of napping roll for.

bringing up a-nap on Cloth and other fabnos. 7 7

An especial feature of the present invention is the provision of a flexible base for the wire bristles, thus affording the utilization of so-called carding cloth, and suitable means for securing such carding clot-h eflectively' economically and with a finished appearance to the rotary support of the napping machine. D

A further advantage of a flexible base 101 I the wire bristles resides in the availability.

of wire stool: for the bristles'of uniform extension in its direction of length, elther for the whole of the body portion, or for therespective body portions provided with one 1 or more knees, the free ends of the respective bristles being provided with burrs or other hook-like terminations.

Preferably, the eiiective direction sion of the pody portions of the wire bristles is uniform and at an angle to the radius of the roller or other suitable support for the bristles.

Pursuant to the most preferred form of my invention, the wire bristles are disposed substantially uniformly in an indefinite length of cloth or other suitable flexible sup- .porting material and of substantially uni form'body dimension and contigmration, from which an indefinite strip of the same is cut, such strip is then wound helically upon a hollow tube of suitable material and glued thereto, the hollow tube having a length equal to i the desired multiple of the lengz th of the individual roller of a single napping; machine. Such. elongated hollow tube with the strip of napping members is then severed for the respective nappingmachines. Such severing may lie-attained by the'use of a rotary grinder and on a lathe or the like. The resulting: severed sections are then n'iounted upon rollers of wood or other suitable material and. se-" cured thereto by gluing or the like and each roller is mounted on a shaft of steel or the of eXten-J JVIAOHINE.

10,1925; seriainof'zeerz.

tion will be more fully understood from the. I

following detail description and the accom- .panying'drawings, in which I Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of a manual type of a napping my invention; 1 .I'Fig'. 2 is a sectional elevation on line 22 F igrl; V Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view showing a portion of the abrasive bar and-its sup-. porting means indicated in Figs; 1 and 2;

Fig, 4 is a sectional elevation on line 4-4 o f'Fig. 2 on a greatly enlarged scale; and

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are detail sectional eleva machine embodying tionsshowing modified'forms of the body" portions of the bristles or other napping members. I v 3 Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, the napping machine embodying my invention'as applied to the hand propelled type as illustrated, comprises a frame'lO' p'rovided'with a handle 11. The casing includes the upper,

12'and the oppositely disposed depending,

substantially vertical casing portions 13, 142.

within the one or more thicknesses of cloth 17 or the like. The wire bristles are of uniform stock of gage wire of suitable material and are conveniently protruded through the flexible base material 17 and bent to have a. U-shape pursuant to approved methods.

In Fig. 4. each bristle'15'has it body'portion extending substantially rectilinearly from its inner end 16 to its free end, at which latter end a burr 19 is formed as described more fully hereinafter. Preferably, the body portion of each bristle 15'of the formillus trated in Fig. 4:, has its inner end portion '16 extending at the desired angle denoted at 20 to the opposite flat faces of the flexible base material 17, so'that when the flexible base material 17 is applied about a circiilarsup- I andsubstantiallyhorizontal casing portion port as described more fully hereinafter, I

each burr 19 is disposed 'and in this case eachbody portion 15ektends, atthe desired angle 20 to the radius of the circular portionand consequent radius of the flexible base material '17.

In a similar manner, other forms of the. body portions of the wire bristles maybe emplayed, 'fifnqFigl the wire is lattes have 1 their inner bOt y portions 21 bent'to a strai h line to form an angle to the portions oi bristles exterior of the flexible base material 17, thus forming a knee 23 substantially at the outer face of the flexible base material 17. The direction of extension of the rectilinear body'portion 22 of the bristles is at the desired angle similar to the angle of Fig. 4,,

or other appropriate angle. The burrs at the vii'ee ends o'lithe bristles are indicated at'19.

In Fig. 6, the wire bristles formed to have theknees 2a a substantial distance beyond I the outer face of the'fiexible base material 17,-

the material of the innerportion 25 ot'each bristle OXlJGDClIDQ' through the flexible base imaterial 17 andthe outerportion 26 of each bristle extending; at an angle to the inward part. In a similar manner, other configurations of the respective inner and outer portionsof each bristle may be selected to atfiled by me on the 4th day oi? June, 1925 and new Patent No. 1,583,587 whereby the burrs project from the bristles in a direction opposite to that of tll'BlOlliii-IOD of thec1rcularsup port in its movement of napping. That is to i say, as viewed in 'F ig. 1, the direction ofpro- -pulsion of the napping; machine manually is indicated by the arrow 27 for the effective strokeofnapping by the wire bristles, and

V accordingly, the direction of rotation of the cylindricalsupport is that of the arrow 28,

as is inoicated in 1 19,. l. Accordingly, in

the effective stroke of harming, the burrs 19 are projected within the woven structure, see 29, F119;. l, to apredeternuned depth and upon the continued rotation oi. the cylindrical roller andtherewilh the flexible base support 17 as indicated by the arrow 28, the burrs 19 withdrawn from the warp and weft of the woven structure, as indicated at the location. 30, the fibres oi. the warp and weft threads being pulled by the burrs and resulting; in the bringing u p of the nap indicated at 31. By the feature of theextension ot the body portions, see 15,;Fig. l, at a substantially uniform angle-to the radius of the circular siupport the burrs are moved in the.

direction of withdrawal of the bristles from thewoven fabric 29 at an acute angle to the lower portions of the respective bristles, thereby releasing the caught fibres of the warp and'weftthreads gently without tearing-and with substantially uniform pressure 7 and direction of movement, and'resulting in the. production ofa substantially uniform nap 31'.

The uniformity of the produced nap is furdisplaced in its position.

ther facilitated'by maintaining substantial uniformity of sharpness of the respective burrs 19 and maintaining substantially uniformity ot' proicetion of the burrs 19 fromthe body portions of the bristles, which i'e-' suits ar'e'readily'effected by the provision of an abrasive 32, as in the form 01 a fiat strip or suitable abrasive material suchas a bar 32 of hi ,rh tempered steel or the like and preferably carried by the casing; 10 in adjustable relation therewith. In the form as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2' and 3, the abrasive bar 32 extends substantially-the full length of the nappingmember. and may be in the i'orin of W a metal bar of the desired outline as indicated and providin for the upturned, oppositely disposed extensions 3 1, 35 which project through suitable slotted openings in the up per portion 12 of the frame 10 of the napping machine; these slotted openings serve to guide the extensions -34. 35 in the radial movement of the abrasive 32 relatively to the radius of the cylindrical napping member when pressed by the adiustable set screw 86 passing through the threaded opening-37 in the upper frame, portion 12.

' t will be observed that upon the rotation of the napping member, each wire bristle is brought in contact withfthe abrasive once for every complete rotation and that successiye complete rows Of'bl'lSblQS lengthwise of the roll are brought in contact with'the abrasive.

The abrasive serves also to restore to position any wire bristle which inay have been Preferably, as above indicated, the wire bristles are'disposed substantially uniiori'n distances from one another, to attain substantially uniform distribution of the burrs or other hook-like terminations at the free ends of the bristles.

In the use of my manually propelled type of napping machine, the length of the napping roll or napping member is usually less than the width of the garment, fabric, cloth or other article to be re-nappcd, and in order to cover the full surface of the article to be re-napped, the napping machine is moved laterally, that is to say, in a direction transverse to the direction ofpropulsion.

In lieu of the use of burrs of the nature of the aforesaid burrs 19, the wirezbristles may be provided with hook endsES, asindicat'ed in Fig. 7, the body portions of the wire bristles eonformingto any of the various terms reterrcd to hereinabove. In Fig.1

7, thebody portions of the wire bristles correspond to those indicated in Fig. t. It will be observed that the flexible base material 17 is illustrated in Fig. 7, asflat, as is also illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6; that is to say, the position of the flexible ase. material as illustrated in Figs; 5,6 and '7 is that as sinned by it prior to being applied to a cylindrical support.

I prefer to form the cylindrical base of my napping member by applying an indefinite length of'st rip of the flexible base material 17 firstly about a hollow tubing 41 of suitable material, such as fibre, papier mache or llkG material, which is capable of being severed by a circular grinder having a thincutting edge. Assuming the length of the resultant napping element to be t'vo inches, appllcable for napping-machines for restoring nap, thatis to say, re-napping napbaregarments and the like,-tl1e length, of the hollow-mounting tubing is selected for a multiple of such napping element length, say, six, eight, or ten inches, of course allow- L ing for the thickness of the body portion of the grinder in the resulting waste. Such strip of what I identify herein as carding cloth is wound helically about the mount "ing tubing and secured thereto by glue or the like. The helical winding is indicated by the dotted lines 40, shown in Fig. 2; in this instance, 'thewidth of the strip is substane tially of the length of the napping 618-. ment, and it will be understood that the width of the strip relative to the length of the napping member may be. selected as preferred.

The use of a thin rotary grinder overcomes entirely the disadvantages attending the use of a saw or the like or by cutting by a knife, namely, in obviating the tearing of the wire or the cloth or of the tubular mounting material or in distortingof any wire, and in avoiding ragged edges and ends. The SGVBZE ing of the napping cloth and the tubular mounting material is had by rotating the;

same in a lathe or 'the like to travel in the same direction as the grinder at the location of severing contact.

Upon severing the combined carding cloth and the length'of the tubular mounting means indicated at 41 in Fig. 2, the

same is then mounted on a roller 42 of wood or likematerial and glued or otherwise secured thereto, and through the central opening 43 of the roller 42 is passed the pin- '44. The pin 44 may be secured to the roller 42 and thereby to the flexible base material by any suitable meansjor procedure, or the pin 44 may a be loosely positioned within the roller 42 as isindicated'in Fig. 2, in which latter instance, one end 45 of the pin 44 may be threaded to mesh with the threading of the opening 6 in the side fiang'e'13 of the machine frame 10 j and a nut 47 tightened to the projecting portion of threaded end 45. The threaded end 45 may be reduced in diameter relative to the body portion of the pin 44 to provide for theshoulder 48 abutting the inner face of the portion of the'side flange 13 about the opening46. The opposite end, 49 of the pin 44 is journalled ina suitable opening in the opposite side flange 14; the end 49 of the pin 44 may beprovided with a key slot 50 to by the nails 53.

facilitate tightening and untightening the pin44. L

j The lateral severed faces of the roller 42, the mountingtubing 41" and of the flexible base material 17' are concealed by the face disks 51,52 Which-may besecured inpo'sition In the form of: my invention. illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the-abrasive 32 mounted and applied in a mannerwhich hasbecn selected from the viewpoint of; economy of costof material and labor. With such form of abrasive and mounting means therefor, and for other purposes, the drag effective upon the individual napping members in their operation of napping is adjusted in magnitude by the provision'o'f a regulatable brake. Forth'e purpose, I have illustrated the roller '42 as having the circular extension 54'of reduced diameter, the circularface of which may be covered with metal, over which" is passed the strip 55 of thin steel or screw outwardly of the frame portion-12,

the spring 58 is-increased in tension, thereby increasing the frictional force between the brake band 55 and the extension 54 of-the roller 42 and thereby increasing the drag of the wire bristles relative to tne material to be nap-pod. The lessening of the"drag attained by turning the regulating screw 60 inwardly of the frame portion 12.

The adjusting screw 36 serves also to com pensate the position of the abrasive for the extent of wear of Wire,bristles.

forms of the hand propelled type hereinabove described, as indicated hereinafter, the stroke of efiiective napping of a thread-bare spot on a garment or the like is in the direction'of rotation 28 of the napping member, and in the manner of assembly of the handle 11 on the I machine frame 10, in the directionof travel 27 of the handle. The movement of the han dle 11 in its opposite direction and the consequent opp ositerotation of thenapping men'rber tothat ofthe-arrow 28, is not effective in producing a nap o-r in remapping, and may be y In carrying out my'invention in the various 7 readil 1 carried out while thena Jin mem- 3 e bers are in contact with the garment or the like without injury to the weaving or the old' or reformed nap, which latter action is made possible by the feature of the relation of extension of the burrs relative to the body portion of the bristles. I As appears from my invention, asabove described, the use of cloth or other suitable" Inaterial serving as aflexible base for the wire bristles, the flexibility or the material oi the wire bristles is enhanced, Such arrangement ailords the employment of wire stock of high- 1y tempered steel having the property oi taking and retaining a sharp burr.

My invention enables the use of the socalled carding cloth in the form of a napping cylinder, and accordingly attains economies in the cost of the napping material.

Whereas, I have described my invention by reference to specific forms thereof, it Wlll be understood that many changesand modifica tions may made without departing from the spirit of the'invention.

I claim:

1. A method of forming a bristle covering for a napping roller, comprising the steps of ta-kingvtubular cylindrical fibrous material serving as the mounting material having a length equal to a multiple of the length of the napping roll helicaily winding and securing on the periphery of said cylindrical mounting material an indefinite length of lien ible base material to wh ch the 1I1110KQ11 lS oi the napping members are secured, and severing the cylindrical mounting material into individual roll covering sections by applying a circular grinder at locations corresponding 'ends of the napping members are secured,

and applying a circular grinder at locations corresponding 7 to said determined length whereby the individual rolls of determined length are produced.

The method of forming a napping roller ot a determined length, which comprises taking cylindrical fibrous tubing mountingmatc rial having a lengthequal to a multiple of said determinedlength, helically winding and securing on the periphery of said cylindrical mounting material anindeiinite length of flexible base material to' which the inner ends of the napping members are secured and applying a circular grinder at locations corresponding to said determined length whereby the individualtubular sections of determined length are produced,and mounting the tubular sections upon suitable cylindrical supports.

4. The combination of a. cylindrical roller,

a flexible base on said roller,,bristle's mounted on said flexible base and at a predetermined angle relative tothe radius of the roller means for rotatably supporting said roller, means serving jointly for applying a drag to said wire bristles and fer restoring the sun gular relation of any bristle deranged relative to said roller, and n'ie'ans for supporting said drag applying and bristle angle restorinr means at a location-to efl'ect contact with angle relative to the radius of the roller,

means for rotat'ably supporting said roller, adjustable means serving jointly for applying a drag to the eudsot said wire bristles and for restoring the predetermined angular relation of anybristle deranged relative. to said roller and means t'orsupportin-g said drag applying and bristle angle restoring means at a location to effect substantially uniform contact with the ends of saidbristles between their respective successive stages of napping.

6. The combination of a cylindrical roller, flexible material wound spirally on said roller, bristles mounted in. said spiral flexible material at a predetermined angle relative to the radius of the roller, means for rotatably supporting said roller, means serving jointly for applying a drag to said wire bristles and for re-sharpening the ends of same and means for supporting said drag applying and bristle re-sharpening means at a location to effectcontact with the ends of said bristles between their respective successive'stages oifnapplng. 7. The combination of a cyhndrical-roller,

flexible material wound spirally on said roller, bristles mounted in said spiral flexible material at a predetermined angle relative to a location to effect substantially uniform contact with the endsoit said bristles between their respective successivestages of napping.

8. The combination of a housinghaving means tor manual propulsion, a plurallty of napping members of suitable material, a fleXible base mounting means for increasing the resiliency ofsaid napping members,rotatable means for mounting said fiexiblebase in said for mounting said flexiblebase in said housing ineansfor re-sharpening the burrs of the said napping members, and means for sup- 10. The combination er a housing having means for manual propulsion, a'plurality of napping membcrs of suitable materiah with their 'free ends burred, a flexible base mo'unt iug means for increasing the resiliency ofsaid napping members, rotatable means Said napping members extending atsueh an angle to the radius of the rotatable member 7 as to enter the material to be napped in a er .l\ V mounting said flexible base in said housing,

spear-like manner as the rotatable member 15 passes over it, means for re-sharpening the burred ends of said napping membergmeans fer supperting'said re-sharperi'ing means in the saidhousinQ so as-te be'in contact with the burrs of all of-the napping members dill".- 20

'iug each revolution of the rotatably mounted 1 member and means for EldJUStlllg said reshairpeuiugmeans to compensate for the wear of the nappmgmembers. v

lute'stlmony whereof I have signed this 25 specificationthis 30th'day 0'lt N0 .,1925.

MORTIMER r. LYNN. 

